What do you hope to accomplish by talking about current events

[slant]

As the title says,

What do you hope to accomplish by discussing current events, especially online?

Are you seeking a way to express your feelings and validate yourself?

Do you believe that discussion on social media will result in solutions to these problems?

Do you think that watching mass media and then discussing it amongst your peers is useful?

Do you ever think about who owns and funds the news and what their motivations may be to blast certain news stories 24/7?

Do you ever question if focusing on your own personal life and community may be ultimately be more productive and fulfilling then discussing what is on the news?

Do you ever research social engineering and the structure of the news media and it's role in actively cultivating society and culture as a whole?

Do you ever get tired of distracting yourself with outage culture and the endless stream of negative news which has been carefully crafted by algorithms to be sensationalized in order to get you to click and watch and make money as opposed to being informative and factual?

What do you hope to accomplish by worrying about things and investing yourself emotionally in issues that realistically you have no personal ability to impact?

 

[b7$sl1JC0]

Discussing about current events is only a way to feed our little ego and believe that we contribute in something, to go to bed afterwards and say.... how good person am i ! but without taking action. Because action has risks and pain and we don't like these things!

By the way very nice thought of yours!

 

[noisebloom]

What do you hope to accomplish by discussing current events, especially online?

Nothing.

Are you seeking a way to express your feelings and validate yourself?

I suspect I'm trying to express my feelings because I don't really have much of an opportunity to do so via other mediums, nowadays. There may be a validation aspect, too, but as I've found myself at a crossroads with both of the mainstream political ideologies time and time again, I usually assume that my opinions won't be validated by many others.

Do you believe that discussion on social media will result in solutions to these problems?

No. Some people believe that movements through social media can incite actual change, but I think all the noise and anger generally drowns everything out. Plus, you can only really make traction on social media if you present manipulative, emotional arguments.

Do you think that watching mass media and then discussing it amongst your peers is useful?

Sometimes, but there's usually enough emotional manipulation and monetary motivation involved with mass media for it to be an honest dissemination of information.

Do you ever think about who owns and funds the news and what their motivations may be to blast certain news stories 24/7?

Constantly.

Do you ever question if focusing on your own personal life and community may be ultimately be more productive and fulfilling then discussing what is on the news?

Yes.

Do you ever research social engineering and the structure of the news media and it's role in actively cultivating society and culture as a whole?

Yes.

Do you ever get tired of distracting yourself with outage culture and the endless stream of negative news which has been carefully crafted by algorithms to be sensationalized in order to get you to click and watch and make money as opposed to being informative and factual?

Yes - this is why politics disinterests me, usually.

What do you hope to accomplish by worrying about things and investing yourself emotionally in issues that realistically you have no personal ability to impact?

Nothing. I suspect I'm only doing so because I've been emotionally compromised for some reason (looping + gripping for those MBTI nerdz).

 

[Wyote]

Mainly when I engage in any type of interaction anywhere there are two notions I hold within me:

1. Creating a bond with the person(s) involved
2. Sharpening my own skills/knowledge

Sometimes it's weighted towards one or the other but generally both are involved.
Sometimes I act counterintuitvely to try to either drive the other person towards some end/thought, or dissuade some perceived manipulation/misdirection.

 

[Vict]

This is a long subtweet.

 

[pzl2lxie81mc]

As the title says,

What do you hope to accomplish by discussing current events, especially online?

I like to collate different opinions in order to develop my own. And, I like to work on different ideas dialectically on this forum.

Are you seeking a way to express your feelings and validate yourself?

I think the need to be seen and heard is fundamentally human. To the extent I get it, it’s nice and I appreciate it. Plus, it’s nice knowing people share similar lines of thinking as me. It is a sanity check in a way because I can think very far out and have to pull it in in once in a while.

Do you believe that discussion on social media will result in solutions to these problems?

I believe eventually, there will come to be a majority opinion, yes, and there will be policy changes. There already are in terms of BLM. I’ve worked in government to know this is the case. And, I’ve worked in research to know it takes years, decades, before some ideas filter through to become policy.

Do you think that watching mass media and then discussing it amongst your peers is useful.

Yes.

Do you ever think about who owns and funds the news and what their motivations may be to blast certain news stories 24/7?

I take in some news, but I don’t rely on news. So, no. I would find it a waste.

Do you ever question if focusing on your own personal life and community may be ultimately be more productive and fulfilling then discussing what is on the news?

Yes, and on my other thread I wrote about that.

Do you ever research social engineering and the structure of the news media and it's role in actively cultivating society and culture as a whole?

No, it’s not my field of interest.

Do you ever get tired of distracting yourself with outage culture and the endless stream of negative news which has been carefully crafted by algorithms to be sensationalized in order to get you to click and watch and make money as opposed to being informative and factual?

This feels more like a line of critique.

What do you hope to accomplish by worrying about things and investing yourself emotionally in issues that realistically you have no personal ability to impact?

Again, another loaded question. But, I’ll bite and say that of course I have some ability to impact things. Everyone does. I may be just one voice out of millions and sure, get abstracted to some algorithm, but that doesn’t take away my ability to effect change.

As black people are pointing out, silence is privilege and it is hurtful. How long should the protests go on for? That’s an individual question, I think. I marched with BLM four years ago, so it’s been going on for me since then and will do so until I feel satisfied with the changes made. For some, they’ll want more. Others, less. We can and should choose our own level of engagement, and feel content with that.

As for emotional investment, it’s like asking why I care. I just do.

 

[slant]

This is a long subtweet.

I just didn't want to pollute the other threads with my frustrations and I was feeling the need to have this discussion (mostly in a state of butthurt) so I decided to make this thread. I still feel much the same about it but I'm come to peace with it as much as I can. Trying to just accept others for the way they wanna process things.

 

[just me]

My cup runneth over.

 

[biwaly]

It depends:

• I'm having fun by joking about it. Especially any news about Trump is a great laughing material for me.

• I use the subject for improving my particular language's skill.

• I need to waste time and it's better than staring at the wall.

 

[JustPhil]

What do you hope to accomplish by discussing current events, especially online?

I try not to discuss, and keep my own opinions generally to myself as I understand everyone has their own thoughts and it is not for me to force my way of thinking on them.

Are you seeking a way to express your feelings and validate yourself?

Always validating

Do you believe that discussion on social media will result in solutions to these problems?

No, I think it highlights a particular problem, which in its own way is good, but I generally find as soon as something new comes along that the focus falls away from that last "big" thing to the latest "big" thing.

Do you think that watching mass media and then discussing it amongst your peers is useful?

I do not watch mass or mainstream media. I generally get an overview of what goes on and research outside the sphere of what MSM offers.

Do you ever think about who owns and funds the news and what their motivations may be to blast certain news stories 24/7?

It's all about advertising dollars really. If they can get people upset and divided then more money .. it's simple really. The news outlets are not invested in reporting as much as invested in making stories that help make money.

Do you ever question if focusing on your own personal life and community may be ultimately be more productive and fulfilling then discussing what is on the news?

It definitely is. Instead of talking and arguing, start acting and doing. Of course I am hopeless in this respect :/

Do you ever research social engineering and the structure of the news media and it's role in actively cultivating society and culture as a whole?

Nope

Do you ever get tired of distracting yourself with outage culture and the endless stream of negative news which has been carefully crafted by algorithms to be sensationalized in order to get you to click and watch and make money as opposed to being informative and factual?

Ha! This in itself is a leading question of sorts, but I agree with you and hence do not watch the news or in fact much TV at all.

What do you hope to accomplish by worrying about things and investing yourself emotionally in issues that realistically you have no personal ability to impact?

Good point .. My worrying has reduced significantly since I stopped investing myself in following news and current events. On a slightly different tangent to this is that our society being interconnected like never before means we have so many more things to be "aware" of. It was so much easier in the old days prior to internet, and then prior to that telelvision and then prior to that radio. We were happy in our own ignorance of world events or events across town. That has pros and cons, but the simple life in retrospect seems a lot more thought evoking on issues that came up a few times a month, than what we have now coming up several times a day or more. I think we are constantly "stressed" or in a state of excitement and this only snowballs contributing to health and mental issues.

 

[Ren]

As the title says,

What do you hope to accomplish by discussing current events, especially online?

Are you seeking a way to express your feelings and validate yourself?

Do you believe that discussion on social media will result in solutions to these problems?

Do you think that watching mass media and then discussing it amongst your peers is useful?

Do you ever think about who owns and funds the news and what their motivations may be to blast certain news stories 24/7?

Do you ever question if focusing on your own personal life and community may be ultimately be more productive and fulfilling then discussing what is on the news?

Do you ever research social engineering and the structure of the news media and it's role in actively cultivating society and culture as a whole?

Do you ever get tired of distracting yourself with outage culture and the endless stream of negative news which has been carefully crafted by algorithms to be sensationalized in order to get you to click and watch and make money as opposed to being informative and factual?

What do you hope to accomplish by worrying about things and investing yourself emotionally in issues that realistically you have no personal ability to impact?

I believe discussion is essential, it's a part of what it means to live in a democratic society. This necessarily involves debates and disagreements, and that's okay. Ideally these discussions shouldn't be loaded with too much emotion, for the simple reason that being highly emotional distorts your logic and leads to intellectual dishonesty (often unconscious). This does not mean that rational discussions cannot be supported by ideals.

That said, I would rather talk about specific, concrete issues, and concrete problems that the world is facing, than simply reacting to what the media are saying. There are some very good publications, research etc., which I take much more seriously than social media and the like. Generally I don't react to what's going on on social media. Social media is too permeated with outrage culture, virtue signalling, short-sighted emotional goals, etc. This is not at all my thing. I believe there is good information out there, but one has to be careful about the sources they consult.

 

[Krypton]

What do you hope to accomplish by discussing current events, especially online? To increase my understanding of issues (partly by better understanding my own thoughts on them), and maintain more interest by way of the dopamine hit from conversations.

Are you seeking a way to express your feelings and validate yourself? Express feelings no, validate myself yeah I guess. I like coming up with good ideas.

Do you believe that discussion on social media will result in solutions to these problems? I mean it's incredibly unlikely but it's possible. You say something smart, people pick it up, eventually someone with actual pull in a small group picks it up, etc etc. Granted the idea of some random person is going to be flawed, but people with greater expertise can refine things.

The issue with a lot of social media conversation is that most people tend to argue the same points the same ways. A little of that is good because memory, but changing it up should have happened a lot sooner.

Do you think that watching mass media and then discussing it amongst your peers is useful? Less cable news, but documentaries, news articles, etc., sure.

Do you ever think about who owns and funds the news and what their motivations may be to blast certain news stories 24/7? Yes. The news media likes sensationalism because it gets views, but even if the issues they focus on are smaller, they're still issues often (With the exception of certain things fox likes to peddle), so it's worth watching. Plus John Oliver exists.

Do you ever question if focusing on your own personal life and community may be ultimately be more productive and fulfilling then discussing what is on the news? Yeah, moreso my personal life because of my answer to the final question, but I've thought about volunteering and such. If I want to influence the world, cultivating personal power is highly important and probably something I need to focus on more.

Do you ever research social engineering and the structure of the news media and it's role in actively cultivating society and culture as a whole? I haven't actually researched it. I always assumed it wasn't really intentional on the part of organizations, though you have Walter Cronkite's example as a possible exception to this (he was a socialist, it was right around when he was a big figure in the news that coverage of war changed, etc.). I notice intentional social engineering a lot more in movies for some reason. Maybe I should pay more attention to the news side of it.

Do you ever get tired of distracting yourself with outage culture and the endless stream of negative news which has been carefully crafted by algorithms to be sensationalized in order to get you to click and watch and make money as opposed to being informative and factual? It's become a jonesing thing almost.

What do you hope to accomplish by worrying about things and investing yourself emotionally in issues that realistically you have no personal ability to impact?

Well, I do have a Political Science degree. With some time in grad school and side learning, I might get into positions where I can impact things. Or I could just make a ton of money I guess.

I don't emotionally invest in most issues (though there are a few I have a personal connection to that I do, these are mostly clickbait types).